Free Press to publish defaulted taxes in March

Lenoir County residents have one month to pay taxes before ‘public shaming’

Brittany Hughes / Special to The Free Press

Most people would love to see their name in the paper — but if you don’t pay your taxes, you could be published for all the wrong reasons.

According to North Carolina state law, on March 27, The Free Press will publish the names of all Lenoir County taxpayers who have not paid their personal property taxes by March 20, giving citizens a little less than a month to resolve their debt.

Personal property taxes make up about 50 percent of all Lenoir County revenue and 10 percent of revenue collected by the City of Kinston. The money is used to fund everything from local government and public safety departments to parks and recreation.

Kinston Mayor B.J. Murphy said publishing the names of residents who default on their taxes is a long-standing statewide policy and shouldn’t come as a surprise.

“One of the penalties is having your name published in The Free Press for 12,000 readers to see,” he said. “Because (the government) is a public entity, it is public information if you don’t pay your taxes. Having the ability to find out if you or someone else has paid their taxes is nothing new in Lenoir County — or in North Carolina, for that matter.”

Murphy said while having one’s name printed for a tax default is often seen as a negative consequence, it can also have an upside.

“Sometimes, there is a positive side to having your name printed,” he said. “Sometimes, you may have just forgotten. If someone sees your name, they might mention it to you and give you the incentive to get it done.

“And I think the county has done a good job of giving people the ability to pay their taxes online or in person.”

Personal property taxes are due Sept. 1 each year and are considered to be in default after Jan. 5. Paying a bill after the January deadline often results in garnished wages and high interest and collection fees. Foreclosure on homes or properties is also possible, though rare and only used as a last resort.

During the 2011-2012 fiscal year, the Lenoir County Tax Department billed a total of $32,881,000 and collected a total of $31,187,000, putting the final amount collected at 94.85 percent. The City of Kinston billed $9,600,000 and collected $9,100,000, totaling 94.83 percent.

Darrell Parrish, director of the Lenoir County Tax Department, said while some bills may get lost or thrown away, it is ultimately the taxpayer’s responsibility to know when their taxes are due each year.

“We send out the bills in August, and we don’t send another bill until they become delinquent,” he said. “And actually, according to North Carolina law, we don’t have to send out a bill at all. The taxpayer is supposed to be aware of the property that they own and what county they owe taxes to for that property.”

Parrish also said that although some people still aren’t making the final deadline, the percentage of taxpayers who pay their bill on time has increased by over one and a half percent in the last decade.

“I’m proud of the fact that we’ve increased the rate, even if it’s a small increase,” he said. “It’s been a steady increase for the last eight or nine years. And I’d like to think it’s due to some of the processes we’ve put in place to emphasize collections a little bit more.”

Taxpayers still needing to pay their bill can pay in person or online at co.lenoir.nc.us.

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